Mini falafel burgers with yogurt and mint sauce

Lebanese cuisine is a true delight; I really enjoy preparing dishes based on this gastronomy and sharing them with friends on summer nights. And who dares to make heavy dishes in this heat?

That's why, and because I know you love surprising your guests, I suggest mini burgers — as you know these are always a draw, and if they’re not the usual kind you have in mind they will always be a hit. So today I bring you mini falafel burgers. Yes, falafel — a fantastic option to move away from chickpea vinaigrettes and eat legumes in a different way.

And not only that: you might be thinking falafel is made fried, but that's not the case here, it's falafel cooked on the griddle, of course with my Le Creuset skillet, ideal for everything you have in mind and more; and if that weren't enough, served with a creamy, refreshing sauce you'll want to make for everything and always have on hand.

Are you in? Have the Gefu press at hand — it will be your great ally today.

Gefu mini burger press and wooden board

Ingredients

For 8-10 mini burgers:

• 250 g dried chickpeas
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• ½ bunch fresh cilantro (leaves only)
• ½ bunch fresh parsley (leaves only)
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8-10 burger buns
• Arugula and lamb's lettuce
• Pickled red onion
• Extra virgin olive oil

For the sauce:

• 250 g Greek yogurt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Fine zest of ½ lemon
• 12 mint leaves, chopped
• Salt
• Pepper

Le Creuset skillet pan, Pallarès carbon steel kitchen knife and wooden board

Preparation

1. Start by soaking the chickpeas, leaving them to hydrate for at least 8 hours.
2. Once hydrated, place them in a food processor along with the garlic, onion, tahini, cilantro, parsley, cayenne, cumin, pepper, and salt. Process until you achieve a homogeneous texture but not too fine.
3. Pour the mixture into a bowl, adjust salt if necessary, mix with the breadcrumbs and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
4. After half an hour, check that the burger mixture has enough consistency to form a ball without sticking to your hands. If not, you can add a little more breadcrumbs to dry the mix. Next form the mini burgers — for this we will use our Gefu mini burger press, which, as you know, is a manual press ideal for making all the burgers the same and making the job easier (you can follow the same recipe for regular-sized burgers with the burger press). Keep in mind that this time you'll need to moisten the base of the press to help unmold them.
5. Once we have the mini burgers ready, we'll cook them on the griddle on our Le Creuset skillet, for this heat a pan with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Once hot, cook the burgers; it's important to cook them about 6 minutes per side without flipping them constantly so they brown and cook well inside.
6. While the burgers cook, prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.
7. Once the burgers are ready, we will warm the halved buns in the skillet.
8. Finally assemble the mini burgers: spread a tablespoon of sauce on the bottom bun, place the burger on the sauce, add pickled onion and top with arugula and lamb's lettuce. Close with the top bun and you have a dinner ready to enjoy on these delightful summer nights.

Wooden board and Revol round porcelain plate

If you like, you can form the burgers ahead of time and cook them when ready to serve. I also suggest presenting all the ingredients on a tray — Emile Henry's are ideal, so everyone can build their burger as they like.

Now it's your turn to tell us: What is your favorite burger? Do you prefer veggie burgers or are you more into classic burgers?